10/02/2013

2013 Crime Prevention Month to Educate on Financial Fraud and Four Additional Topics

FINRA Foundationand NCPC Offer A New Resource for Your Financial Security this October

ARLINGTON, VA—Oct. 2, 2013—In 1984 The National Crime
Prevention Council (NCPC) designated October as Crime Prevention Month.
To mark Crime Prevention Month 2013, NCPC has announced the release of
its Crime Prevention Month Kit in partnership with the FINRA Investor
Education Foundation. The 2013-2014 kit, Protecting Our Assets: Keeping Communities Safe from Financial Fraud, is designed to help keep the well-earned income and investments of everyday citizens where it belongs.

“NCPC is excited for the release of this much-anticipated new resource
so that people can learn about this growing crime trend and how to
better protect themselves,” said Ann M. Harkins, NCPC’s president and
CEO. “Initial orders for the kits exceeded more than 40,000 requests,
resulting in the need to more than double the print production to meet
demand.”

In a recent survey conducted by the Federal Trade Commission, an
estimated 13.5 percent of U.S. consumers (30.2 million people) are
defrauded each year, losing a total of close to $3 billion. In addition,
a survey by the FINRA Foundation of U.S. adults age 40 and over found
that over 80 percent of respondents have been solicited to participate
in a potentially fraudulent scheme, and over 40 percent of those
surveyed could not identify classic red flags of fraud.

Perpetrated through a wide variety of activities from fake lotteries
and identity theft to complex Ponzi schemes, financial fraud can take
many forms. The FINRA Foundation’s survey found that email investment
solicitations were the most widely recalled form of solicitation (67
percent recall being solicited).

This year’s CPM Kit, Protecting Our Assets: Keeping Communities Safe from Financial Fraud,
features information on these different kinds of financial fraud and
the tactics used by the white collar criminals and con artists who
regularly undermine people’s trust. This all-inclusive kit will help
those in your community learn about the prevalence and dangers of
financial fraud along with steps people can take to keep from becoming
victims.

The 2013-2014 Crime Prevention Month Kit is but one part of a much
larger partnership between NCPC and the FINRA Foundation to reduce the
incidence of investment fraud. Together, the two organizations are
establishing a number of Investment Fraud Prevention Programs on the
state level and educating law enforcement officers to become better
equipped to handle reports of investment fraud in their communities.

”When it comes to financial fraud, America is a nation at risk. We are
proud to work with NCPC to help Americans across the country avoid
financial fraud,” said FINRA Foundation President Gerri Walsh.

Financial fraud won’t be the only topic of discussion during Crime
Prevention Month, however. Following a tradition started in 2008, NCPC
will feature tips and resources on one of four crime prevention topics
for each week of Crime Prevention Month via its website and social media
accounts. The first week will focus on protecting your personal
property, which encompasses anything from personal safety and home
safety to auto safety and mortgage fraud. The second week will focus on
staying safe in a high-tech world, which will include topics such as
cellphone safety, cyberbullying, data privacy, and social networking.
The third week will teach students, parents and school administrators
about school safety and security, including college campus safety.
Lastly, the fourth week of October will highlight safety in the golden
years, focusing on fraud and abuse targeted toward the senior
population.

For more information or to obtain a Crime Prevention Month kit, visit NCPC’s website at www.ncpc.org. To schedule an interview, please contact Sara Khalatbari at 202-261-4151 (skhalatbari@ncpc.org).